Hammer time: Coyotes' Jakob Chychrun pleased with Thor-themed bobblehead doll

Jakob Chychrun's review of the bobblehead made of his likeness is favorable. 

"I think they did a pretty good job. Bobbleheads can be kind of hit or miss, so I think they did a pretty good job of making it look as close to me, looking as much like me as they possibly can," Chychrun said. 

The Coyotes will pass out dolls to the first 5,000 fans through the gates at Gila River Arena on April 22, the night the team hosts the Washington Capitals in the third-to-last game the team will play at the Glendale building before it officially calls Tempe and ASU's multipurpose arena home. 

It seems unlikely that Chychrun, who's missed 15 games since March 12 with a lower-body injury, will be back and able to play on the night his likeness, combined with the superhero Thor's famous hammer in what is being billed as Marvel Super Hero Night, becomes a collector's item. 

At the start of the season, Chychrun was named an assistant captain and was widely viewed as the face of the team, modeling the popular white Kachina jersey in the announcement of its return. He'd come off his best season as a pro at only 23 years old —  he just turned 24 last month. 

Two long-term injuries have limited Chychrun to 47 games and 21 points, but he's working hard in rehabilitation to get back before the season ends.

"I'm not a big Marvel guy, but people actually used to always tell me I look like Thor, so I guess it's kind of funny, you know, with the long blonde hair and muscles," Chychrun said, chuckling modestly. "I just think it's kind of funny. But it's cool. For sure, I'm excited."

When he saw the final product, Chychrun approved. The Coyotes haven't handed out a bobblehead to fans since pre-pandemic days, Feb. 24, 2019, to be exact. 

That night, longtime former captain Shane Doan's number 19 was retired in a memorable ceremony on the ice, and all fans in attendance received a Doan doll. 

Doan was asked what it is like for a player to hold and wiggle a doll made in his honor. 

"It depends on if it looks like you or not. If it looks like you — for me that wasn't as good a thing, I thought they could do a little bit better job — but maybe 'Chick' is a little bit better," Doan said. "That's one of those bizarre things. It's hard to even explain, because you grow up kind of seeing those and grabbing those and it's kind of like you made it. To have that, I'm pretty happy for Chick."

Chychrun was a roommate of former Coyote Max Domi when the Coyotes gave away a bobblehead of Domi posing next to a dog, symbolizing the player's diabetic alert dog. 

"There hasn't been much talk about it. I don't think many of the guys even know," Chychrun said, asked if he expected to be razzed by teammates. "Maybe they do, I'm not sure. I don't think anyone's seen it in person, so maybe once they see it in person, maybe there will be a few chirps. Luckily it's been under the radar a little bit."

Chychrun never thought he'd have a bobblehead of himself, but he looks forward to getting a bunch of them to hand out to people close to him.

"That's going to be the coolest thing about it, is this summer, being able to bring them up to all my family and get some of their reactions," he said. "For sure it'll be a nice little thing to have for the rest of my life."

Get in touch with Jose Romero at Jose.Romero@gannett.com. Find him on Twitter at @RomeroJoseM.